Bill and Patricia Braswell

Bill is a soon-to-be-retired clergyperson who graduated from UNC-CH and Duke with assorted degrees ranging from Political Science to Divinity (the ridiculous to the sublime, or vice-versa). He drove a light blue van and wore a pony tail during his college years. Having been in charge of large congregations for many years, he has a wealth of experience in speaking, teaching, writing, appearing, administering, and conducting important occasions. He hasn’t made time for hobbies, but is eager to try one out soon.

Patricia, former English instructor at various community colleges and one university, is currently a micro-manager. Her experience with editing is considerable, having read approximately 234,000 research papers and 4,824 sermons. She is a Demon Deacon who routinely participated in rolling the quad after a win over the dreaded Tar Heels.

Bill and Patricia are from Winston-Salem and Sanford, respectively, and although they have lived all over the state, Wilmington is home. They have one practically perfect daughter, AnaAustin, who is a sophomore at Hoggard. The three Braswells will soon move to historic downtown and look forward to waving at the horse-drawn carriage as it goes by their old house.

Jeff Harvell

Jeff has been a Son, a South Brunswick Cougar, a UNCW Seahawk, a Jarhead, Entrepreneur, Builder, Developer, Husband, Dad, a Chamber of Commerce President, a community supporter, and enjoys livin’ his life out loud.

Jeff has called Brunswick County home since most of Brunswick County’s roads were dirt, the beaches were less crowded, and the shopping centers were either across the state line or the river. He Loves North Carolina’s Cape Fear region for the many blessings God has bestowed upon it.

Jeff likes; Brunswick County and the Cape Fear Region, the beach, Sailing in stormy weather, canoeing Town Creek in the fall, his family and friends, traveling, and peanut butter ( a lot ): Jeff dislikes; fire ants and okra.

Teresa McLamb

A native of southeastern North Carolina, Teresa A. McLamb is an avid traveler, art collector and cat lover who treasures living on the water. She is an award winning freelance writer and PR consultant who holds a BA in journalism from UNCCH and MA in English from UNCW. Spring break trips with her kids – and sometimes their friends – is a long tradition, even though they graduated from college a few years back. They’ve traveled together to much of the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. Her daughter is an actress and model; her son serves in the US Army.

Dana Jackson

Dana Jackson has been photographing children and families in the Wilmington area for over 3 years. She loves capturing the connections family members have with each other and being a part of their life celebrations. When she is not behind the lens – she is keeping up with her active 5yr old and husband in Carolina Beach.

David

Dave had three career adventures. He was in the Marines for 11 years as a commissioned officer and Naval Aviator and also spent 15 years as a National Guard helicopter pilot. After active duty in the Marines, he worked for several manufacturing companies in management/supervisory positions. In 1982 he decided to go back to school to earn a PhD in Finance with a minor in Economics and then taught at several Colleges and Universities before retiring from full time teaching in 2005. He and his wife (Voncile) became residents of Wilmington in 2005, and in 2007 Dave joined the UNCW/CSB faculty as a part time lecturer in Finance and Economics. He enjoys golf, boating, reading and good movies. Dave and Voncile have three daughters and six grand children.

Blake Baxendell

Blake is a man of many talents. Among them are web design (like this site) and photography (He owns Bax Photography). He graduated from Slippery Rock University in PA with a degree in Communication in Emerging Technology and has thoroughly enjoyed traveling all over the world as a proud member of the Air National Guard for over nine years. During his free time Blake enjoys taking a stroll at local parks with his camera in hand and working out at the gym.

Janice Burton

Janice has had a passion for the written word since she was a small child. Yes, she was the kid who kept the flashlight in her room so she could read long after her mom and dad called lights out.

She is a strong believer in the idea that books, newspapers and magazines will never go completely away because there is something comforting in the smell and texture of these items. Some are like old friends waiting to be revisited, while others are like new friends waiting to be found. (She hopes you’ll make Livin Out Loud one of those old friends.)

She has been writing since high school. Became passionate about it in college, and has spent the past 20 years in the land of newsprint and ink. Working for community and daily newspapers during her career, she is currently juggling a number of hats: She is the wife of one of America’s finest – a U.S. Army Soldier; the mother of brilliant, active, beyond adorable 10-year-old boy; a member of the Strategic Communications Cell at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C.; the Associate Publisher of Up & Coming Weekly in Fayetteville, N.C.; the editor of your newest friend, Livin’ Out Loud and a lifelong friend of LOL Publisher Todd Godbey.

Brad Lademann

Brad Lademann has done a little bit of everything in the roles he has filled in life. Most of his adult life has been spent working with kids in various capacities ranging from being a youth pastor to coaching basketball and soccer to running after school programs for at risk youth.

He moved to Wilmington from Missouri (Go Tigers!) a little over four years ago. Having grown up in the Midwest, he now cannot imagine ever living anywhere that isn’t close to the ocean. Brad lives with his wife, his three children and one oversized dog.

 

Kelly Ulecki Vernon

Kelly was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and has lived in many wonderful places – her favorite was Montana, where she attended college. Happy to return recently to the Carolina Coast, she stays busy as an involved mother to four sons. She enjoys volunteering at their schools, working for non-profit organizations, and especially researching and writing anything that deals with issues of the heart and home. She enjoys outdoor concerts, entertaining guests, traveling and trying out new restaurants.

Dr. Ronald Copley

Ronald E. Copley, Phd, CFA founded Copley Investment Management (CIM) in 1985. Prior to that, Ron served in the 5th Special Forces Group in the US Army from 1966 to 1969 during which he received the Bronze Star Medal for valor as an infantry officer in Vietnam. After his military service, Ron pursued careers in both academia and the investment advisory business. He has served as a Professor of Finance at Queens College, Memphis University, UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Wilmington. Currently, Ron is the principal of CIM where he is responsible for managing investment portfolios for individuals and small business retirement plans. He also provides business valuations for the legal community and is active in international consulting for foreign governments.

Sandra Moulin

Former Master French and English high school and college teacher, has been freelancing in Wilmington for five years. A Wilmington Symphony Board member, script writer and event planner for local non-profits, an accomplished pianist and public speaker, Sandra has authored a collection of humorous essays, BEFORE and LAUGHTER: A Humorous Perspective on the Mundane. She lives with her husband, Mark, and they enjoy traveling to exotic destinations as well as to visit their ten grandchildren.

“E. E. Rickey”

“”E. E. Rickey”" is a figment of his own imagination. He has held a number of jobs over the years, including bagging groceries at a corner grocery, delivering flowers for a florist, clerking for a clothing store and taking toll on a bridge. It is no coincidence that they are all out of business. He is currently on sabbatical from assisting his wife in her first grade Sunday School class – she is the teacher, he is the bouncer.

Having written for the Columbus Dispatch, The Community Common, New Christian Voices and Chinese fortune cookies, he is proudest of several letters of
complaint to governmental officials. These have been somewhat curtailed by various letters to cease and desist (people can be son sensitive). His wife has gone through the drama of raising three children to adulthood, with Rickey mentioned in the credits. They have five grandchildren, all of whom are paying their parents back for their own childhoods. Residing just off the beaten path, if you want to communicate with him, he
suggests you contact the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Tom Pechar

Owner of Synergy HomeCare of Wilmington, providing in-home care to clients of all ages. Prior to this second career he spent thirty five years working in resident professional theatres around the country. As Managing Director of theatre companies in New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Atlanta, among others, he produced hundreds of plays and musicals, including The Color Purple in its pre-Broadway run. In Seattle, he coordinated the fundraising and construction of a $20 million performance, production and education complex for Seattle Children’s Theatre, one of the most respected theatres for young audiences in the country. After close to a decade in landlocked Atlanta, the lure of the coast was too much to ignore and Wilmington beckoned. Tom is delighted to be living and working in the Wilmington community and loves keeping a toe dipped into the vibrant theatre scene here as a preview writer for Livin’ Out Loud.

John Mclean

I grew up in the Midwest, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but made my home in the military. After 23 years as an Army Ranger and Infantrymen I have lived all over the world until I retired and moved to Wilmington, NC with my wife Nicole. After graduating from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco I now own and operate Jon McLean Photography Studio (JMP Studio). My personal photography goal is to provide a perspective, seen through the camera, that will illicit excitement, wonder, curiosity, and hope for our natural surroundings. We walk through life and do not really see all the incredible details. My focus is on adventure, travel and environmental photography. This works well with my other hobbies…scuba and sky diving, traveling and hiking with my wife, surfing when every possible, and the occasional back country mountain trek.

JMP Studio
Prepared to…
travel to the ends of the earth…
weather any hardship…
endure the harshest extremes…
what ever it takes…
to live the moment…
to get the shot!

Vince

Vince grew up in the Triangle area of North Carolina and transplanted to the New Hanover Co. area 17 years ago.

He has spent many of those years working with local businesses as an advertising and marketing consultant.

If he isn’t out helping businesses grow, he can usually be found floating the boat somewhere along the Cape Fear or hanging on the farm in Duplin Co. A true outdoors man! He also loves to cook and is always trying a new recipe out on friends!

Vince loves coastal N.C. and all that it offers to its residences and the area business community!

Jenny Callison

Jenny Callison is relatively new to Wilmington and is drawing on the experiences of her checkered career to tackle freelance writing topics of all descriptions.

Having lived in five states (geographically, not psychically, speaking) and having worked for a variety of organizations, Jenny can churn out 500 words on almost any topic, from the habits of fiddler crabs to the mysteries of machine tool manufacturing. She looks forward to new writing challenges with Livin’ Out Loud.

Cindi Johnson

Cindi was born and raised (as we say in the South) in Winston-Salem, NC but has always been lured by the magic of the ocean. Moving from home at the tender age of 27, she began a real adult life by moving to Charleston, SC and then to Tampa, FL, to San Diego, Washington DC, and then finally made it back to North Carolina, settling in Cary where her boys, Neil and Taylor, were raised. It seems she only moved totally across the country while being seven months pregnant each time!

Cindi lets everyone know that she has been an ECU wife and mom for a very long time and she bleeds purple! Go Pirates!

In the fall of 2005 Cindi moved to Southport/Oak Island to further her then career in real estate and to be close to the ocean she loves. That move was made just in time for Hurricane Ophelia! Other than real estate, she has many years of media selling and buying experience for various advertising agencies and broadcast companies.

Cindi is passionate about singing, the boys, hanging out with positive people, being on or around the water via sail or power, or just sitting on the docks “watching the wind go by”. (Yes, those are the lyrics of a country music song.)

Christy

Christy hails from Washington, D.C., where she was born and raised, then went to the University of
Maryland. She’s a HUGE Washington Redskins and a Maryland Terps fan (but don’t hold it against her)!
She has been in Wilmington since December of 2002, and considers herself a “Southerner” at heart! She
loves her garden parties, oyster roasts and a day by the ocean!

Christy cut her teeth in Miami radio sales in the good ole days of radio, and spent 16 years working the
Miami, D.C. and Wilmington radio markets. For the last 8 years, Christy was in cinema advertising.

Christy has a 10 year old daughter, and spends most weekends at the ice rink, or on the beach. Christy’s
daughter is an ice skater and they both love the sun and surf!